The Vacation Pics That Didn’t Make The Social Media Cut

I just spent the last week in Costa Rica living the #puravida. It was absolutely glorious 95% of the time.

So I’m here to mention the 5% that that really sucked because we never talk about it yet all experience it. By not talking about it we’ve convinced each other that bad vacation moments never ever happen so when you experience it then you must be doing something wrong or that the vacation is now ruined. Psh. Nah. It’s all a part of the experience.

Behold, my top 5 fave pics that perfectly describe those moments. Now that I’m no longer living in it I can totally laugh about it.

1. Babe, I wasn’t ready!!! This picture was actually hilarious because I was trying to be funny and do a tree pose under this giant tree (get it?!?!) but my fiance had just about had it with me asking him to take pictures and we’re only in day 2 of our 7 day vacation. So he literally just snapped the picture and gave me zero warning. Admittedly, this was an impromptu hike that took us a little longer than expected so the hanger was really starting to settle in right about now.

Let me know when you’re going to take the… oh you already did…

A deep breath, a sweet pleeeeeease, and a promise to go eat right after, we actually got the shot I wanted then, of course, he realizes how cool it is and asks for one, too. Nailed it!

Yet this one really summarizes the moments in a hike where we wonder why we think sweating buckets, getting bit up by mosquitoes, and being surrounded by wild animals is a great idea. It is. It always is.

2. Hunny, can we please just go??? As mentioned above we were pretty tired and hungry at this point but I spotted this little guy and the wanna be National Geographic photographer in me insisted I could catch at least one focused shot. I can’t even tell you how long I stood there while my fiance was using every once of restraint to not just abandon me in a Costa Rican rain forest. Honestly, I don’t know if I would have blamed him per se but we also know he has a terrible sense of direction so that bought me a little more time. Did I ever get the shot? No. Was this the only time this happened? Moving on….

He gently reminded me of the promise I had just made to keep moving forward because food. So while I personally would have stayed there for hours trying to get the image I imagined in my head, I knew I had to move on. It’s called compromise. Whenever you vacation with anyone else this is a key element. You also have to remember that people are not rational when they’re hungry so it’s best to stick to the plan before anyone goes rogue.

#3 Just keep shooting! I swear this my fiance deserves a medal. I finally fulfilled my childhood dream of riding a horse on the beach. It was everything I wanted it to be and more so naturally I wanted to document it. I’ve been on a horse several times so I had no problem taking shots of him on his horse so I on the way back I asked him to do the same.

Problem is that it was his first time on a horse, ever. He snapped his heart out and 80% of the shots came out like this because I think he was also simultaneously attempting to catch me in my “natural element” because he knows I love that, too. Bless his big unfocused, un-centered amateur photographer heart.

This being a body positive centered blog I can’t help but adore this picture for one more very important reason. The memory means so much more to be than what I look like doing it, I’m doing it and that’s all that matters!!

#4 Look! I’m a sloth! I LOVE sloths! That’s actually the only one of the reasons we came to Costa Rica. Unfortunately, as plans came together we realized that we weren’t going to be able to see any. This was a huge bummer so I decided to pay my own homage to these gorgeous creatures during one of our hikes. I thought it would be hilarious to hang from this branch, he thought I was trying to kill myself. Let’s just say we both assess risks differently. I don’t. He does. So he was real quick to snap these pictures which I didn’t actually check until we were back in our hotel room.

I almost died. I was honestly baffled at how he could have even taken this picture when in my mind I assumed he knew I wanted what was on the right. The slothness is pretty lost in this very questionable angle. I appreciated that he did it anyway despite thinking I make questionable life choices which I think he secretly enjoys. Also, I got to look up pictures of sloths for this post so that made me pretty happy.

#5 No seriously, I can’t do it! I try hard to do super cool things and get super cool shots. This is me trying to do a side crow on a rock. The issue is I have so much bug spray and sunblock on my arms are ridiculously slippery! I try different angles but this pose is just not going to happen. I was pretty bummed because just looking at this picture, it would have looked so badass.

Some things just don’t go to plan no matter how hard you try. It’s really really really easy to get caught up in that disappointment but allowing yourself to sit in it for too long makes you miss out on all the amazing good things going on around you. I have a very very very hard time with this. I’m a wallower (not a word but should be). I even used to use that same mentality with my body. I would say things like “well, I like 90% of me but that last 10% is just ruining everything.”. If I applied that same thinking to other areas of my life then I would never be able to find joy in anything because something always happens unexpectedly.

Vacation pictures don’t determine whether you did or didn’t have a wonderful time. The memories you bring home do.

The point is, not every picture is going to come out how you pictured but that doesn’t make the memory any less memorable. Making it shareable has been jeopardized slightly but that’s about it. That’s why I keep all my pictures. One day the memory will fade away but these will bring me right back to that moment in time. When not everything was absolutely perfect but it was still my life and those are still my memories and that’s what makes them so incredibly special.

I fly out to Seattle tomorrow for my meetup on Friday and #topless5K on Saturday!! You can follow the adventures via PowerToPrevail on Twitter or Instagram. IF you still want to join us please e-mail me at powertoprevail@gmail.com! 🙂

A proper slothy picture taken on a hike my first time in Seattle! This is pretty much what you can expect from my feed this week…

I fly out to South Florida next week and will be doing a meetup on July 23rd! More details on le Facebook page. Click here for more info! I can’t wait to be back on the beach with my babies!!